The Amazing Spider-Man #283
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAmazing Spider-Man #283 holds a dual distinction: it marks the first appearance of Mongoose, a High Evolutionary–engineered super-agent who would go on to become a recurring Thor villain, and it serves as the sole Amazing Spider-Man tie-in chapter of Roger Stern and John Buscema's celebrated 'Avengers Under Siege' storyline, placing Spider-Man in direct combat with the Masters of Evil's heavy hitters Titania and Absorbing Man. The issue is simultaneously the swan song of the Tom DeFalco/Ron Frenz run—one of the defining collaborations of the Copper Age ASM—making it the closing chapter of a tenure that introduced the alien black costume saga, Silver Sable, the Rose, and advanced the Hobgoblin mystery. As a narrative bridge, the issue also deepens the subplot of Flash Thompson as a fugitive framed for the Hobgoblin's crimes, and plants the seeds for Roderick Kingsley's increasingly unstable double life, threads that would pay off dramatically in the Gang War arc and the 1987 Hobgoblin revelation.
In "With Foes Like These...", Spider-Man swings through the city on a mission to track down Flash Thompson—only to be sidetracked by a brutal clash with Titania and the Absorbing Man. With tensions high and the stakes dangerously real, the fight ends in a standoff when the Absorbing Man threatens to drop an airplane full of passengers, leaving Spider-Man to swing away, frustrated and uneasy. Written by Tom DeFalco and brought to life by Ron Frenz’s dynamic art, with Bob Layton on cover pencils and inks, this 1986 issue captures the chaotic energy of Spider-Man’s world at its most unpredictable.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Tom DeFalco took over Amazing Spider-Man from Roger Stern beginning with issue #253 (1984), forging a roughly three-year partnership with penciler Ron Frenz that proved one of the series' most productive stretches. DeFalco and Frenz were removed from the title by then Spider-editor Jim Owsley under the orders of Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter—an abrupt departure that made #283 their final issue together on the flagship book—before DeFalco returned to Marvel and eventually succeeded Shooter as Editor-in-Chief in 1987. The issue was inked and covered by Bob Layton, with Jim Salicrup credited as editor and Shooter as editor-in-chief, placing it squarely in the mid-1980s Marvel editorial infrastructure.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Mongoose, a genetically engineered New Man created by the High Evolutionary and co-created by writer Tom DeFalco and penciler Ron Frenz; the character appears only in shadow in this issue, with his identity confirmed retroactively in Thor #391.
- Part 5 of 8 in the 'Avengers Under Siege' crossover (titled '...With Foes Like These...'), the story continues from Avengers #274 and plots directly into Avengers #275.
- This is the final issue of the Tom DeFalco (writer) and Ron Frenz (penciler) run on Amazing Spider-Man, closing a collaboration that spanned 1984–1986 and included landmark story beats such as the alien black costume saga, the introduction of Silver Sable, and continued development of the Hobgoblin mystery.
- Titania (Mary MacPherran) and Absorbing Man (Carl 'Crusher' Creel) appear as the primary antagonists, acting as operatives of Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil; their mission at LaGuardia Airport is to pick up the newly smuggled-in Mongoose.
- The Hobgoblin and Roderick Kingsley appear in cameo, with a scene at Kingsley Limited showing the Hobgoblin demanding more powerful weapons from Kingsley—advancing the subplot that Peter's spider-sense tingles near Kingsley's office without Peter acting on it.
- Cameo appearances include the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) and a flashback cameo by Doctor Doom; the character listed as 'Captain Kris Keating' is later revealed to be the Foreigner in disguise (as disclosed in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #129).
- The issue was reprinted in Marvel Tales #291.
- Bob Layton served as both inker and cover artist; the creative credits are writer Tom DeFalco, penciler Ron Frenz, inker Bob Layton, colorist Bob Sharen, and letterer Joe Rosen, with Jim Salicrup as editor.
Cast · 17 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Strange #216 (1987), El Hombre Araña / El Asombroso Hombre Araña #403 (1988), Edderkoppen #4/1990 (1990), Spindelmannen #4/1990 (1990), L'Uomo Ragno #78 (1991), Marvel Tales #291 (1994), Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man #27 (2025), A Csodálatos Pókember #51, De spectaculaire Spider-Man [De spektakulaire Spiderman] #88, Die Spinne #144, L'étonnant Spider-Man #188, Σπάιντερ Μαν [Spider-Man] #453
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